Master of Arts in Design Innovation

at Manchester Metropolitan University United Kingdom

Sustainability is at the forefront of a global agenda. From how it influences individuals’ decision making, to the impact it has on the strategic direction of multinational organisations.

With the growing recognition of sustainability as a core business practice, there’s no better time to study a postgraduate management degree with sustainability at its heart.

Developing your career
On this course you’ll gain a thorough introduction to management practices, studying alongside students on our long-standing MSc Management course. Here you’ll explore units on organisational strategy and supply chain, amongst others, to give you key insights into various areas of business, management and leadership.

As the focus of your studies, you’ll also have the opportunity to learn about sustainability and sustainable development, studying specialist units looking at topics such as the circular economy and social, ethical and environmental challenges. You’ll then work towards completing a sustainability research project on a topic of your choice.

Product designers at Manchester Met explore why, examine how, and ask ‘what if?’ We are investigative and critically responsive to human and global needs, developing innovative design-led solutions that connect the consumer experience of products, systems and services. As a product design student, you will be creative with purpose, gaining critical understanding of the emergent issues affecting design across society and culture, learning how to be a designer of products that enhance functionality, interactions and relationships with people and the places we inhabit.

 You will develop essential skills in creative methods, research, design thinking, prototyping and design strategy, applying design intelligence to the creation of new product opportunities and solutions. You will discover how to design products that embrace both traditional and contemporary approaches to production and manufacturing, generating value through the application of materials, processes, and technologies. This course will enable you to produce innovative crafted design solutions and develop the creative and professional skills required to support a sustainable career in product design.

Product Design at Manchester Met builds on the success of our previous programme, BA Three Dimensional Design, which has produced influential and award-winning graduates including designer and architect Thomas Heatherwick, jeweller Ruth Tomlinson and ceramicist Joe Hartley.

With a strong focus on employability and social responsibility, MSc International Fashion Business Management is aimed at applicants from a variety of backgrounds who want to gain a professional understanding of the fashion industry.  

The program structure allows fashion creatives to continue their creative practice whilst gaining a sound knowledge of international fashion business, as well as applicants who would like to establish their own fashion brand or business in this competitive globalised industry. This course will equip graduates with the key skills required to help evolve the fashion industry to become more ethically conscious, socially progressive and environmentally sustainable.

Students will gain experience in both the strategic and creative aspects of fashion, business and management. They will develop knowledge of business, environmental, social and cultural contexts, underpinning the strategic and creative process with theoretical knowledge in an ever-changing global market.

The character and culture of Manchester is embedded in this course. As an international city that attracts global brands and has a flourishing independent fashion economy, students can avail of a range of different learning experiences. Through a range of live project briefs and opportunities for collaboration, students are encouraged to challenge the status quo and produce a creative industry portfolio that demonstrates their distinct skills and experience to prospective employers.

The MSc Luxury Fashion Management course is designed to advance practical and theoretical skills including creativity, innovation and management.

You will learn how exclusive luxury organisations succeed through exceptional business acumen, creativity and innovation. Luxury businesses are central to the industry and a barometer to international trends, embracing sustainability, diversity and change. Luxury fashion is embedded in historical and cultural contexts but characterised by contemporary issues including evolving customer demands, digital technology, style and image. The program develops awareness of the cultural codes of the luxury fashion industry through deeply understanding a brands DNA, heritage, craftsmanship, services and clientele.

Teaching from educators and industry partners through workshops, events, collaborations and company visits will provide a holistic overview of this innovative and exciting sector. As a student of the MSc Luxury Fashion Management you will enhance existing knowledge and develop creative, managerial and professional skills to achieve the highest recognised postgraduate award. Career development and support are an integral part of the course, preparing you for a career in fashion or other luxury sectors.

With a strong emphasis on employability and social responsibility, this course will equip graduates with the key skills required to help evolve the fashion system to become more ethically conscious, socially progressive and environmentally sustainable.

MA Design Innovation considers how design acts as a catalyst for innovation, leading to new products, services and user experiences. It focusses on design thinking approaches, to address contemporary societal and business challenges to develop a rich understanding of where design can add value. It will provide you with the skills to strategically apply design to solve complex problems in the global market.

The application of design thinking is explored with the latest research and practice in design innovation, design management and design strategy, that supports you to develop a holistic view of design and creatively apply the theory in your specialist area. Design research, empathy and user-centered development are at the core of the program that reveals unmet user needs and, in turn, generate insights that lead to desirable products and services in a commercial and societal context.

The course provides a balance of theory and practices through a series of lectures, seminars, workshops, cross-disciplinary collaborations, research visits and live projects to provide you with comprehensive knowledge of design innovation while giving practical skills to excel professionally.

Study geography at Manchester Met and you’ll begin with a good grounding in earth surface processes and landform development alongside society, culture, place and space. With a wide range of options in the later years of your geography degree, you can explore the issues and areas that interest you most.

While we have excellent teaching facilities on campus, we know that some of the most powerful lessons are learned outside the classroom. So, you’ll have ample opportunity to get involved in fieldwork trips around the UK and overseas, helping you develop and refine your practical skills. And, if you take the four-year route, you can spend a year either working on a placement or studying overseas before returning for your final year.

Along the way, you’ll explore key theories and concepts – and how they apply to geographical phenomena – while developing practical skills and techniques through field and laboratory work.

Placement options

• All of our geography degrees have been designed to be flexible. You can opt for the four-year placement degree route and spend Year 3 on a professional placement with a degree-related organisation.

The world of business is full of opportunities. So where do you start? This practical course will help you find your calling in international business with modules ranging from consultancy to enterprise.

BA (Hons) Business Management includes everything you could want from a business degree, from expertise in our research areas of sustainability, strategy, and enterprise to events like our leadership series of guest lectures.

Applied business skills
You’ll learn the theory behind what makes a successful business. We focus heavily on giving you the practical knowledge you’ll need for your career – whether that’s starting your own business or working your way up in a big corporation.

By the end of this course, you should be able to think strategically. You should have an entrepreneurial mindset. And you should have the skills to be a successful manager anywhere in the world.

The new sustainable business
Profits aren’t the only thing driving businesses. We believe you need to conduct business in a sustainable and ethical way to be an effective manager. Our values underpin everything we do here at Manchester Met.

In fact, you’ll live and breathe sustainability while you’re here, studying in the environmentally-friendly business school. You’ll also get to work alongside innovative start-ups at Manchester Met-based Innospace, were we support people with great business ideas and the commitment to turn them into reality.

Placement options
The BA (Hons) Business Management degree offers the chance to spend a year getting a taste of professional life. It not only gives you the opportunity to develop your core skills and learn about how business really operates in your industry, but also shows employers that you’re ready to get to work.

The Business School Placement Team is ready to help. They offer a wide range of services, including employer presentations, advice and placement fairs. But it’s also up to you – the more proactive you are about applying for placement opportunities, the better.

The MA in Graphic Design & Art Direction program is designed for creative practitioners who wish to advance their knowledge, skills and specialism within the field of visual communication.

Each student will develop a practice-led investigation within this broader context, actively constructing a bespoke body of design knowledge which combines theory, practice, research, entrepreneurship and innovation from a wide range of creative activities.

They will be taught to question and expand their creative thinking and generic design process by developing their analytical skills; engaging in critical dialogues; work independently, collaboratively and interdisciplinary; experimenting in a range of directions before delivering professional and innovative outcomes to defined audiences with confidence. All creative activities are supported by strategic thinking, robust methodologies and informed by practice-led research.

All of these scenarios have one thing in common; a physiotherapist.

Amongst a team of skilled healthcare professionals – including doctors and nurses – physiotherapists independently identify, assess and analyse physical problems caused by injury, illness or ageing and treat them by taking a holistic approach using skills such as manual therapy, exercise or electrotherapy.

Our three-year course incorporates the core values of the NHS constitution to help prepare you for the challenges of working as a physiotherapist in contemporary healthcare.

You’ll learn to assess what people need, and identify their problems. We’ll help you to understand how to set treatment goals and determine approaches that provide the maximum benefit for your patient.

To teach you essential clinical reasoning skills we use real patient case studies. This will give you the opportunity to try out your practical skills such as joint mobilisations and massage on people in your class and on patient simulators.

On this three-year course, you’ll explore topics from the structure of language and how speech sounds are expressed, to anatomy, the psychology behind our development, and the effects of politics on the provision of speech and language therapy in the community.

You won’t simply learn the theories and research behind how we communicate and why people have difficulties in communicating, you’ll also learn the practical skills you’ll need.

You’ll study the techniques, skills and methods used to assess, analyse and manage clients, such as using boards with symbols that children can point to or swallowing tests for adults who have suffered a stroke to determine the treatment they need.

You’ll complete clinical placements in each year of study. Past placements have included working in a hospital with adults who have had strokes, special educational needs (SEN) provision for teenagers in a secondary school, and in community clinics.